The Dark Clock Phantom
by Kira8428
Summary: Clockwork knew that it was only a matter of time before Dan escaped from the thermos. He only wished that he was able to predict what he would do once he escaped. There were so many possibilities that he'd considered for the future he couldn't see, but it just had to be the one he didn't consider. The one where time no longer existed inside of itself. [No PP]
1. Prologue

Ticking rang through the tower like a choir, as he waited in silence. Clockwork didn't need his infinite knowledge of the time stream, nor did he need anything more than common sense, to know that the Fenton thermos, which had been sitting on that pedestal for roughly 2 years now, was about to break. It was obvious, as there was only so much that Earth metals and ecto-energy could take.

So, to Clockwork, it wasn't a matter of if the thermos would break, only when. And, for once in his long after-life, he didn't know when, as what the thermos contained existed outside of time, and outside of his view. It was a hard pill to swallow, but it was true, and it had the time master on edge.

He did not know if he was going to die today, but it seemed likely. Though he'd long come to terms with his death, the fact that he didn't know if he was going to die scared him. Quite honestly, years of suffering didn't sit well with him, and he'd much rather not consider it, but it was always a possibility if he survived.

Crack. A thin fracture formed on the side of the thermos.

Clockwork frowned. He didn't like this feeling. He was dreading the future, as with each passing second he was getting closer to his misfortune, whatever it may be. He couldn't fight, it was a losing battle if there ever was one, and he'd be damned if he ran. So, he stood and waited for the moment to come.

Clang! The thermos tumbled to the ground, a few more cracks forming near the first.

It was a wonder the small soup container managed to last so long, being put under constant abuse for 2 years. It was heavily dented, rusted, and now nearly broken. One more hit would do it, and thus Clockwork would be no more.

And yet he was now certain that he would not die.

His own timeline had always been foggy, at best, but Clockwork just knew that he wouldn't die today. He wouldn't be the same after today, but he most certainly wouldn't die, and that fact scared him most of all.

Far more than the blue rays that burst forth from the thermos like a volcano did. Far more than the glowing red eyes that shined in the smoke did. Far more than the sharp smile, full of malice, did. And far more than the entirety of Dan Phantom ever could.

"Clockwork. It's been awhile." His voice was one meant for pleasantries, though his eyes were those meant for murder. "How long has it been? A couple years?"

"2 years." Clockwork spoke, voice level despite his fears. "What will you do?"

Dan floated towards the time master, eyes never leaving the other's. "Many things, with your help."

"And what makes you believe I'd ever stoop so low as to help you? I'd sooner cease to be." Clockwork spoke, the grip on his staff tightening. Something was wrong here. Something was wrong with the words that were being exchanged between them.

"Oh, it's quite simple really. After all, I'm always happy to help myself." From there, Clockwork only knew of pain.

Images ran rampant through his mind. He could feel himself being split into two, beneath a blinding light with sharpened blades. He could hear the desperate screams of innocent people, begging for mercy. He could feel the weight of a thousand sins on his back, slowly trying to suffocate him. He could feel a group of people trying to stop him. He could feel himself retaliate. He could feel himself striving for their suffering. Striving for his existence.

"Exist!" His mind repeatedly screamed. "Make certain that you will exist!"

Existence. Perseverance. Power, and sadism. Time shattered on the ground, and only those things remained, hidden behind solid red eyes. Teal skin and roaring white flames of hair embodied the rage that had intertwined with the broken pieces. A black and white robe and cloak hid the shattered urges and rage beneath it's eerie calm, as the clock it revealed proceeded to tick backwards, and forwards, and then he smiled, running a black gloved hand over the scar on his face.

In a baritone voice, full of a foreboding cold, he spoke and held up his staff , adjusting it's time. "All is forever as it's supposed to be."


	2. Chapter 1

Danny gasped, a cold sweat shining on his forehead as he looked around in a panic. His heart rammed into his chest as he, ever so slowly, came to the realization that he was in his room, underneath his blankets, with no destruction in sight. Another, damned, night terror. Truthfully, Danny was starting to wonder if those sleeping pills were _causing_ this. Shaking his head, Danny pulled his blankets off of his body, and carefully crept towards his bathroom, still unsure if he was still asleep or not.

When he finally reached the shut door, he took a deep breath. He told himself that no one would be there, waiting for him with a twisted grin. No one would be standing there, ready to murder his family, his friends, and him in cold blood. No one would be there, to remind him of the inevitable. No one would be there… no one would be there… No one was there.

Danny released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, before he flicked on the lights and stepped inside. Once the door was shut behind him, Danny's nervous gaze flicked up to the mirror, and he flinched. He was a mess.

His raven hair was soaked, and stuck to his forehead, while his pajamas were also drenched in a cold sweat. The, normally lively, blue eyes Danny held might as well have been grey with the sorrow they showed, and his skin was paler than a ghost's ever could be.

Or, in three words, he looked sick. In fact, not only did Danny look sick, but he also felt sick, and this had been going on for months now. The night terrors, the increased paranoia, the feeling of dread as he waited for his ghost sense to go off everyday, it was eating him alive and he didn't know why.

For no rhyme or reason, about 3 and a half months ago, he'd started to have nightmares about his evil future self, and thus that caused his brain to see if this was a message, or a sign, of something. With that, the paranoia and dread set in, as he expected to be jumped every time he blinked or breathed. What was worse was the fact that those things had been impossible to hide, leaving his friends to constantly worry over him, and his parents to get a doctor to medicate him. Even worse still, was that it affected his ghost fighting.

Whenever he fought a ghost, Danny's mind would always pause, and force his eyes to see the man from his nightmares emerge, fighting to kill. With the full ghost having that intent, Danny's instincts would take over, and he would do the same, only to later realize he'd just nearly beat someone to a second death. It was terrifying, which really didn't help the cycle of misery caused by terror, and thus Danny would fly off and panic in some back alley, somewhere.

It was a horrible way to be, but Danny wouldn't trade it for anything. He'd rather bare the eternal nightmare of his future looming over his shoulder, than to watch the world bare the eternal suffering as his future ruled over theirs. It was better this way, he always told himself, and managed a small, painful, smile into the mirror.

Peeling away his damp clothes, and throwing them into his laundry basket, Danny took a shower, brushed his teeth, and got dressed. Once he was dawned in his signature clothes, Danny did his best to fix his hair with his hands, before he grabbed his backpack, and made his way into the alleyway beside his house.

He transformed, and took off into the morning air. He'd fly to clear his head, and then head to school while repeating the mantra in his head. 'Dan's not coming back.'

* * *

Long fingers, covered by black gloves, traced the edges of the screen showing the present, and allowed a fanged smile to appear on his face. 'Time,' His conscience mused, said conscience being none other than the time-master himself. ', is much more fun to break than protect, I will admit.' Well, almost the time-master.

"Quite." The baritone voice of the ghost spoke out, as he watched 16 year old Danny Fenton fly in circles in the sky. "Of course, much more amusement will arise later, I assure you. Until then, the Observants will arrive in… 3, 2…"

The ghost pulled his hood up, just as two Observants burst through the door, seemingly ready to fight, while they observed the ghost's movements. Said ghost's stance was perfectly docile, and that fact unnerved both of them greatly.

"What have you done to Clockwork?" The first asked, authority lacing his every word.

The ghost yawned, stretching his arms, before he turned to face the two. With the hood, the ghost probably could have passed for Clockwork, had the roaring fire of hair beneath it not shined so brightly.

"I'm sure you could guess." The ghost said, before he amended his statement. "Actually, you probably couldn't. Being invisible to your eyes and being able to control time itself does that, you know."

"Explain yourself." The second Observant said, floating forward.

"Oh, but that would take hours. Though I literally have all the time in every world, I really don't feel like explaining my paradoxical existence to you for half of it. Well… I guess I could at least answer your little question." The ghost smirked, eyes flashing a brighter red, as the ghost of time's voice rang out from his mouth. "I am Clockwork. Though now, I am not bound by your petty rules and guidelines. You will never be able to control me again, and remember, I know this because I know everything."

With that, a blast of ecto energy slammed the two Observants into the wall, effectively sealing them in place. The ghost then floated forward, eyes dimming once more as a smirk played on his face. His fingers were laced together, and he spoke calmly, despite the sadistic intent in his eyes.

"Now, for the sake of appeasing the vengeance that half of me harbors for you, I will now proceed to torture you into obedience. Who would like to go first?" The calm faded to smug madness, as the Observants struggled in their bonds.

"You will never get away with this!" One of the Observants shouted, only to have the ghost lean forward, face a breath away from his, as fury engulfed the ghost's face.

Flaming white hair blew back the hood, as the ghost's fingers turned to claws, and teeth sharpened to an even finer point. "I will get away with this! I will get away with everything! I am the master of time, the master of all existence! But, more importantly,"

The Observants trembled, far more as the ghost became calm than when he was enraged, as they could see their former co-worker behind those red eyes as he moved slightly back, and he was happy. Clockwork was happy being a part of a monster, and was happy to feed Dan his power. Their minds had intertwined themselves too quickly, and too well, to ever be reversed, and that stuck to the Observants's minds as the ghost finished his sentence, a smirk pleasantly placed upon his face.

"I am _your_ master. Now, and forever more, you will be subservient to me, and not the other way around." Clawed fingers fiddled with the knob on his staff, as the ghost watched the Observants.

"The Observants would sooner perish." The dark time master laughed, seeming to fully be the menace known as Dan in that moment, though it was quickly becoming harder to tell.

"Please, you all fear your death. It was never about the ghost zone, nor the ghosts. Hell, it wasn't even about Clockwork! It's about you keeping your petty lives. It's why you instilled the rule, right? To "watch and never act," remember? It's why you hired him in the first place. So you wouldn't have to face any dangers. But now, you will be working for me." The ghost said.

"You cannot make us. Clockwork, some part of you, would never let you do this!" The ghost snickered at those words.

"I highly doubt that. Clockwork was always a neutral ghost, even more so, a neutral ghost that hated you. Dan, meanwhile, was purely sadistic. By adding zero to an alignment of negative infinity, you still get the total of negative infinity." The ghost said, before he added. "You know, the only reason you aren't being tortured or dead yet is because I like seeing your hope dwindling without needing to lift a finger, right?"

The Observants ignored the ghost's words. "That's enough! Clockwork, you are the master of time, and your job is to watch the time-stream-"

"Not anymore. And stop calling me Clockwork. I prefer… The Dark Clock Phantom. Or, for times sake, _you_ will call me Master Dark." With that, the ghost pressed the button on his staff, before tying two time medallions around their necks, like collars. "Now, let's see how long it takes to break you, free of interruptions."


	3. Chapter 2

After flying around the town for nearly an hour, Danny finally landed in an alleyway near his school, and transformed back into his human half calmly. Flying had always been a great way for him to clear his head, and this time was no exception. Moving out from the alleyway, the teen jogged up to the Casper High building, before he started walking to class.

Despite the horrible side-effects of having constant nightmares, one upside to the situation was that less ghosts had been attacking Amity Park recently, which was a surprising amount of weight off of the halfa's shoulders. 'Actually, come to think of it,' Danny thought as he sat at his desk with Sam and Tucker. 'I haven't seen many ghosts at all for a while now. None last night, and none this morning.'

"Hello? Earth to Danny." Sam's voice broke Danny out of his thoughts, and he turned to face her. "You feeling okay, Danny? You spaced out again."

"Yeah, it's just…" Danny lowered his tone of voice, as his friends leaned closer in to hear what he had to say. "I haven't seen any ghosts recently, and I don't know why."

"Maybe you scared them off. You have been acting pretty off, dude, ever since you started having those night-terrors." Tucker commented, noticing the light bags under his friend's eyes, and that his hair was even messier than usual.

"I doubt it. I haven't seen the Box Ghost, and he's always around. Heck, I even went to see _Vlad,_ to see if he was behind any of this _,_ and he wouldn't even tell me to "go away!" I'm starting to think something bigger than night-terrors are going on with me." Danny said, and his friends quickly noticed the paranoia setting in once more.

"Danny, if you're so worried about the future and the other ghosts, why don't you just go see Clockwork?" Sam suggested, and Tucker nodded.

"Yeah. You can check on the ghost zone, see that your jerky future self's still sealed up tight, and get some confirmation that nothing's wrong." He said, and Danny thought it over.

Then, he smiled and nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks guys; I'll stop by Clockwork's tower during lunch today. Er, you'll cover for me, right?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "You've been asking that question for 2 years, Danny."

"Right, right." Danny said, smiling sheepishly. He still couldn't believe it… 2 years.

2 years, and nothing had really changed. Sam was taller, with slightly longer hair, and that was about it. Tucker was the same way, though he traded in his glasses for contact lenses last year. And Danny hadn't aged a day, which was… concerning, but far from his mind at the moment. A few hours later, and Danny left the cafeteria, before he sprinted in the direction of the boy's bathroom. Then he stopped in his tracks, and hid behind a corner.

Dash.

Unfortunately for Danny, his friends weren't the only ones that remained the same. Dash still picked on him, even more so now that he was getting closer to the real world. With no luck at getting into a college with his crumby grades, the A-lister was far more agitated nowadays, and took all of that agitation out on Danny.

Taking a breath, Danny steeled his nerves, before his eyes flashed green, and used one of the new powers he had learned over the past couple years. Besides his cryokinesis, and other prior ghost powers, Danny finally managed to hold 3 duplicates without being drained, and he learned to bounce his voice off of walls while changing it. It was quite impressive, if he did say so himself. Now, if only he could master changing his appearance…

Smiling slightly, Danny manipulated his voice to change to one of the nerds he remembered, before he threw his voice so that it seemingly came from the other end of the hall. _"Aw, geez. I just dropped all my stuff. I sure hope no bullies come and kick me from behind while I'm picking them up!"_

Dash, and the football players he been talking to, nodded before taking off down the hall, leaving Danny plenty of time to duck into the bathroom and go ghost. He then turned invisible and intangible, before he took off into the direction of his parents' ghost portal.

And once inside the ghost zone, he made his way towards Clockwork's tower, though not without noticing the distinct lack of ghosts. What was even more off-putting was when the ghosts that Danny _did_ see didn't even breathe at him. It almost seemed like they were preparing for something, and could only focus on that. Even the Box Ghost, Danny caught a glimpse of, wasn't saying anything as he carried boxes in the, exact, opposite direction of Clockwork's tower.

Actually, a lot of the ghosts were either going to, or leaving, the time master's tower. Suddenly full of dread, Danny flew top speed towards the tower. Upon reaching it, he opened the door, and peered inside, quickly taking notice of the figure staring at Clockwork's screens, his back to the halfa.

"Clockwork?" Danny asked, unable to keep the nervousness from his voice. Something about this ghost scared him, and he didn't really know why.

"Close enough for me to say yes." The ghost said, his voice sounding similar to Danny's mentor, but not quite. There was something… sickening to it, Danny concluded. "Can I help you, or are you just going to stand in the doorway?"

Shaking his head, Danny took a defensive stance as he watched the suspicious ghost, who kept his back turned to him. "Who are you?"

"Your worst enemy, and greatest ally. However, you may call me Dark, much like your future." The ghost said, a smirk heard in his voice. "If you're here about your night-terrors, maybe I could shed some light on that issue for you."

"How do you know about that!?" Danny demanded, floating upwards while he charged his hands with ecto-energy, paranoia and panic weaving through his mind.

Chills ran up Danny's spine, leaving him frozen in place, as the ghost glanced at him, revealing flames of hair and solid red eyes, framed by a white cloak with black insides. "Oh Daniel, trust me when I tell you, I know everything. I know all that is, was, and ever will be."

"No… no, it can't be…" The energy Danny had been building up fizzled away, as fear clouded his mind. He could process nothing, save for the flaming white hair, turquoise skin, and fanged teeth of a predator. A predator known as his future.

"It isn't, or not anymore, in any case." Dark said, turning back to watch the time-stream, where natural disasters were being displayed from multiple eras. "I am Clockwork. I'm also Dan, so by extension you and Vlad, and it certainly provides an interesting thought process. Tell me Daniel; what happens when you mix infinite knowledge with non-existence and sadism?"

Danny didn't say anything as his mind screamed at him to run, but he knew there was no where to go. He had to fight; he had no choice. Charging up his powers again, the halfa fired at the dark time master, only to gasp as he vanished into thin air. Looking around frantically, he jumped as the man's voice called out from above him.

"Well, that was very rude of you, Daniel. I was trying to hold a civil conversation with you, and you try to kill me." Dark said, though his eyes were alight with amusement, as he watched the ghost boy try to blast him again.

When Danny didn't reply, Dark chuckled. He vanished from sight once more, before appearing directly in front of the boy, causing him to fall backwards with a yelp. "Now, please be polite and answer my question."

Danny narrowed his eyes as he looked up towards the man. "Do you get a monster?"

"Mmm, close. You get a ghost who can accomplish anything, and everything." Dark reached down, before he lifted the halfa by his throat, a sick grin on his face. "And with that in mind, it would be so easy to snap your neck right now. I wouldn't even have to think about it, but that would be such a waste of grand potential. I'd much rather follow the timeline in which you join me."

Danny wrinkled his nose as he struggled against the grip around his neck, thankful he didn't have to breathe. "If I said no to the fruitloop, what makes you think I'd say yes to you, especially when _he's_ part of you?"

"Oh, that's a very easy question to answer, Daniel." Dark said, carrying the boy towards the screen that displayed the future.

He then dropped Danny, only to pull him close, while ignoring how hard his back hit the glass casing covering his chest. He then held the halfa's eyelids wide open, while the future flickered to Amity Park, where society was alight by flames. People were screaming, crying, and begging for mercy as the majority of the ghost zone's inhabitants murdered them all in cold blood, including Danny's family and friends.

And finally, Dark answered Danny's question, a cruel smile on his face as he whispered. "Very soon, you will have no one else to turn to."

He then released the boy, allowing him to fly out of the tower, knowing that he intended to put a stop to yet another painful future. Unfortunately for him, this time, time wouldn't be there to have the outcome swing in his favor.


	4. Chapter 3

Danny burst through the ghost portal, his eyes searching for any signs that the ghosts had come through it. Upon finding nothing, he turned around and shut the portal, locking it up tight, before he took a step back to breathe, and process everything that had just happened to him.

Clockwork, his mentor and friend, had been overwhelmed by Dan, and was now an insane ghost who wanted to make Danny his evil apprentice. He was also planning to destroy Amity Park, and probably the entire world, in at least a few hours. "Oh man, what am I gonna do…?"

"Danny, are you down there?" Looking up, Danny watched his friends come down the steps and into the lab. Sam spoke first. "What happened? You were gone for hours!"

"Guys, we have a really bad problem." Danny started, eyes glancing towards the portal every so often, before he started to explain the situation while preparing some weaponry.

* * *

"So," Dark started, tail wrapped around the neck of the ghost king from an alternate timeline. "I will ask you once more. All you have to do is say yes, and I might not demonstrate the process of killing a ghost on you as I did with your minions. Now, would you, kindly, hand over the crown and the ring?"

When the king refused to speak, Dark sighed tiredly. "I figured you would act like this, but I was hoping you'd be a rarity and surprise me. I suppose it's not to be."

Raising his staff, which was now glowing green with the ectoplasm of the king's minions covering it, the dark time master slammed it into Pariah's chest, hearing him grunt as he tried to remove it, clearly wanting to scream, but refusing. Shaking his head, Dark ran his energy through the device, making it engulf the king, and cause him to wriggle in pain and finally cry out in agony. Leaning over his staff, Dark looked down at him with a small smile on his face.

"Don't worry, your majesty. Every ounce of ecto-energy being ripped from your body will be put to good use. Firstly, I think I should test it on some of the Observants who attempt to defy me. After that, perhaps I'll take out the Pariah from the timeline I dwell in. Add more power to my being… Then the Fenton family will suffer. Except Daniel of course. Being more powerful than all other ghosts, mind myself of course, he's far too useful." Dark then chuckled. "You know that, don't you? He did defeat you here as well."

Ectoplasm leaked from the corner of the dying king's mouth, as his energy was being pulled into the staff by Dark's energy. "He… never defeated me…"

Dark smirked. "As nice as it would be to die with that thought, it's wrong. After all, I'm a third Daniel. Not only that, but also Vlad and Clockwork. My, you've been defeated by a lot of people today, haven't you? But don't worry… you won't be living with that defeat much longer."

Removing his staff, as well as the ghost king's last remaining drops of energy, Dark watched him turn to goo and dissipate into the ghost zone, before he picked up his prizes. The Crown of Fire, and the Ring of Rage. Turning them intangible, he shoved them into his chest and fused them with his being, screaming in agony as pain briefly consumed him. He then removed his hand, now covered in some of his own ectoplasm.

He smiled with fondness at his hand, as a memory managed to make it's way to the forefront of his mind for a moment, past the madness, sadism, and vengefulness of his other thoughts and omniscient. "Intangible and unreachable…"

The fire that was Dark's hair roared, as his eyes shined bright red with power. He smiled wickedly, his serpent tongue tasting the ectoplasm on his fingers. The flames that engulfed the keep around him casted long shadows on the ground, and rubble lied at his feet, as he relished in the power gifted to him from the destruction. Then he stopped, and glanced at his staff.

"Hmm…" Dark wiped away some of the ectoplasm on the clock face of his staff to see the time of dimension he was focused on taking care of. "I'll give him an hour longer to see what he can come up with, why not?"

The clock face morphed into a mini screen, showing the boy and his friends gathering ghost weapons into a duffel bag, each one nervous, but none more than Danny. Chuckling, Dark whispered into his staff like a microphone. "I've given you the gift of time, Daniel. Make it count."

* * *

Danny shivered, dread weighing far heavier on his shoulders now. "Guys, something tells me we don't have much time. Sam, head up to the Ops center, and let me know if any ghosts appear with the Fenton Phones, and be careful."

"Got it." Taking the set of Fenton Phones from Danny, Sam jogged up the steps and out of the basement.

"Tucker, I need you to distract my parents. Ask them about ghosts or something, just keep them out of the lab, and out of harm's way, and yourself too." Tucker nodded, running upstairs as well, leaving Danny to watch the ghost portal. And as he was doing so, he remembered a very important detail. "Vlad's portal! What am I gonna-"

Danny cut himself off, and looked at the phone on one of the work tables. He inwardly cringed at the thought of telling Vlad anything about this, especially Dan, but he needed all of the help he could get. After all, not just his future was on the line here.

Dialing the man's number, Danny hoped that the man was available, especially since he hadn't been able to get ahold of the older halfa before. _"Mayor's office, how may I help you?"_

"Ah, is Vlad there? It's Danny." Danny asked, nervously messing with the phone cord.

 _"The mayor's currently very busy. Can I take a message?"_ The secretary asked, clearly bored and uncaring as to whatever Danny's situation was.

"Just tell him it's really important, please! Mention me!" The woman on the other end sighed, and clacking was heard on a keyboard, followed by her muffled voice. Then the line was cut, and Danny heard Vlad's voice.

 _"Daniel, this is a very bad time-"_ The man was cut off.

"Vlad, listen to me! We're all in grave danger! I need you to turn off your portal, lock it, and make sure nothing comes out, got it? The entire world depends on nothing leaving the ghost zone!" Danny said, frantically glancing between the phone in his hands and his ghost portal.

 _"My portal's always locked when I'm away. Calm down, and explain to me what's going on."_ Vlad said, keeping calm so that Danny would do the same.

"Agh, okay!" Danny said, launching into as quick an explanation of his evil future self, Clockwork, and Dark as he could while being as brief about Dan as possible. A silence then followed, before Danny spoke up. "V-Vlad?"

 _"I'll see what I can do, Daniel… Be careful."_ Danny stared at the phone, shocked at what Vlad had said. That was… easier than he thought it would be.

"Right, thanks Vlad." With that, Danny hung up and breathed deeply.

The only, permanent, portals between the ghost zone and Earth were now under lockdown, which should at least buy the young halfa a little more time. He could only hope that they were prepared enough for this. But, just in case, he continued to work on some of the projects in his parents' lab while glancing at the photograph beside him. He wouldn't lose, he concluded as he stared at the still image of his parents and sister, alongside him, in the picture frame. He wouldn't lose because he promised, and he had something to fight for.

The future of his family.


	5. Chapter 4

Sighing, Danny finished his modifications to his parent's Specter Deflector, eyelids heavy as he sat it to the side. Though he loathed to admit it, especially at a time like this, he was tired. Not only had the halfa not gotten much sleep that morning to begin with, but his constant worry was beating him into the ground, and he wanted nothing more than to sleep it off. But he couldn't, not right now. Not when there was so much left to do.

He'd gotten a text from Tucker earlier, saying that his parents went out to get them some pizza after weaving an elaborate excuse that the ghost hunters, somehow, bought, which would have relieved some stress, had Danny not realized that his parents were now out of the house, and at greater risk to harm. It took a long time, but the teen's friends had managed to calm him down enough to keep working, and he couldn't squander the opportunity with sleep, especially since Dark could attack at any time. Plus, Danny had a feeling that his nightmares would be far worse if he fell asleep now, and that would be of no benefit to him.

So, he took on the task of the Ghost Gauntlets, now that the Specter Deflector's damage had been increased. And this, he realized, would be incredibly difficult. Though he'd use those very gauntlets to defeat Dan before, now it was terrifying to touch them. He could almost picture how much pain they could cause to a ghost… How much pain they had, probably, caused him.

Shaking his head, Danny shoved them onto his hands to reassure himself that nothing was wrong with them. And he was fine, until the claws came out.

He hadn't seen it before, when he fought his future self, but now he did. The blood and ectoplasm of himself and Vlad, from the future, stained the claws and didn't appear to be easily gotten rid of. And that made Danny scream and fall to his knees.

"Danny!?" Tucker ran downstairs, while Sam screamed his name through the Fenton Phones, asking what had happened.

"T-the Ghost Gauntlets…" Danny pointed towards them, eyes wide with fear, as his friend turned his gaze to them. Tucker was surprised at the sight, and slightly unnerved. "They… they created…"

Danny was practically hyperventilating, as he stared at them. "Danny, calm down! It's okay, man!"

Tucker reached for the gauntlets, ignoring the dried red and green mixture as best he could. He fumbled with the gauntlets for a bit, before he managed to retract the claws. He then looked at Danny, who was slowly getting a hold of his emotions and breathing. Sam eventually joined them downstairs as well, and proceeded to comfort the halfa with Tucker.

"Come on Danny, pull yourself together. You can't become _him_ anymore. He doesn't exist-" Sam tried to reason, but Danny interrupted her.

"It's not him that scares me anymore!" He shouted, before he took a breath and looked down at his reflection, in the shining metal floor. "Well, he does… He always will, at least a little bit, but he doesn't scare me as much as the idea of him."

Danny shut his eyes, allowing them to glow green behind his eyelids, while reminding himself that his eyes were not red. "It's the _idea_ of him that scares me. The idea that I could become evil. I know I promised I wouldn't, and I don't want to, but what if something changes? What if Dark messes with the past so I become evil, or what if he does something when I'm born, or what if- what if-"

"Danny!" His friends shouted, making the halfa quickly fall silent. Sam then spoke up. "Danny, you won't become evil, so get that idea out of your head! You're a hero. And you'll always be one as long as you want to be."

"Yeah," Tucker added. ", you fought your evil future self and didn't turn evil then, and you can fight Dark and not turn evil now."

Danny gave a small smile. Though he still had his doubts, he was able to put them aside and nod, before he cautiously took the gauntlets into his hand. "Thanks guys… I think we can do this."

His friends smiled, but then Danny yawned. "Are you okay, man?" Tucker asked.

"Yeah, just a little tired, but I'll be okay." Danny said, standing to pick up the gauntlets, and place them on the table.

"Danny, you can't fight anything if you fall asleep in the middle of a battle." Sam told him, but Danny shook his head.

"Even if I wanted to sleep right now, I can't, and you know why." Danny picked up a screwdriver, and started undoing the panel on one of the gauntlets.

Tucker frowned. "Come on Danny, a couple hours of sleep won't kill you."

"Yeah, well it's not me I'm worried about losing." Danny muttered, pulling the panel off.

Sam placed her hands over Danny's, a stern but concerned look on her face as she took the screwdriver from him. "Danny, it's okay. We'll finish up the weapons, and you get some rest. Like I said, you can't fight if you fall asleep in the middle of a battle. We'll be there when you wake up."

Danny shifted under the gazes of his friends, before he looked into Sam's eyes. "You promise?"

"Promise." Sam said, smiling when Danny turned and walked to his room. "Come on Tucker, let's finish up on the Ghost Gauntlets."

Tucker, though slightly concerned, nodded and stood in front of the table with the goth, ready to help.

Then the clock ticked a minute ahead.

An unconscious Danny was unaware of this factor. He was unaware of the portal opening in his room. He was unaware of the hand, waving over his head to deepen his slumber and entrap him. Even worse, he was unaware of the ghost that had trapped his friends in a soundproof box at the foot of his bed, waiting for the halfa to awaken.

And the worst of all, he was unaware that his newest future was about to become far worse than the last one ever could.


	6. Chapter 5

Danny shifted under his blankets, not wanting to leave his blissful slumber just yet. It had been the longest, most peaceful, sleep he'd ever had in weeks, which was saying a lot since he was sure it was just a nap. And yet, though nap it might have been, it left the halfa feeling rejuvenated and ready to take on the day. However, as he shifted a little more, preparing to get out of bed and continue with his day, he felt as though something was wrong.

Opening his eyes, he saw nothing unusual. His room was still half-cleaned, and his door was shut, just like he left it. When he sat up, however, Danny noticed the weight around his waist, and was shocked to see the Specter Deflector, locked in place, with the key nowhere in sight. What was in sight, however, were his friends.

Trapped in a glowing, green, box of ecto-energy were Tucker and Sam, asleep with tears staining their cheeks, and dark bruises on their skin. When Danny screamed, the two awoke with a start and looked around in a panic. A moment later, and the two had finally remembered where they were, and started beating on the walls of their prison, able to hear Danny, but unable to be heard.

"Don't worry, guys! I'll get you out of there!" Danny said, instinctively turning into his ghost form, only to cry out in intense pain. He turned back as fast as he could, shaking violently at the intense shock to his nerves. He'd fix the Specter Deflector a little too well.

"My, you would make a fine alarm clock if you weren't to be my future apprentice." Danny's blood ran cold, as he slowly turned to face the ghost whom had spoken to him. "Did you have a nice nap? I made sure your friends were alive when you awoke, just so they could keep their little promise. Here, and "safe," now that you've woken up."

"Let them go!" Danny shouted, stepping between the prison and it's warden.

Shaking his head, Dark waved his staff, causing the boy to freeze in place. "You're in no place to be making demands, Daniel. You can't access your powers, you can't move your body, and anyone that could have helped you either don't know you're a ghost, don't know you're here, dead, or all three. You know, like your parents?"

Danny stopped breathing. He stopped blinking. He simply stopped, unable to fully process the words until he was forced to. Dark raised his staff in front of the halfa's face, and showed what had happened mere moments ago, with the teen unable to look away or unsee what was displayed.

It was him… Danny, or Dark in the form of Danny, had walked up to his parents and held a healthy conversation about ghosts as they walked towards Fenton Works, pizza boxes in their arms. The moment looked sweet, and would have seemed like a fond memory, had the dark time master not been the one pulling the strings in this twisted little puppet show.

 _"Mom, dad, can I ask you something?" Dark had asked, a smirk unfolding on his face, as he was several steps in front of Danny's parents. "I'd really appreciate an answer."_

 _"Sure sweetheart, what is it?" Maddie asked, giggling when her husband shouted. "Is it about ghosts!?"_

 _Dark's smirk widened into a smile, his fangs present as he glanced back at the two, both still unable to see the new canines their "son" had developed from where they were. "Yeah… Kinda. You two would rip a ghost apart, molecule by molecule, to study it, right? Well then… could I, as a ghost, rip you apart, molecule by molecule?"_

 _Before any action could be made, Dark's time staff appeared in his hand, still stained with the ectoplasm of fallen ghosts. He turned quickly, the blue eyes of Danny Fenton becoming a solid crimson, as he froze the two ghost hunters in place. He then shed his disguise and morphed into his true ghost form, a cruel grin on his face as he looked down at them from where he floated, his outfit glowing slightly brighter with the green shimmering on it._

 _"I've always wanted the opportunity to study humans up close. Now, I finally get the chance… Let's see just what you're made of." Dark whispered, before he made an arc with his staff, causing the ectoplasm to rush to the top and form a blade. "Shall we begin the operation?"_

The sight was sickening. The squelching sounds caused Danny's stomach to turn, while tears flooded down his face like waterfalls. Sam and Tucker were covering their ears, trying not to be sick, as Dark merely sighed with fondness, as though looking upon an old family picture. The Fenton's blood drained into the blade, and once the deed was done, it returned to the dark and dried stains on the purple staff once more, though now with a touch more red.

"That power still needs a little work, but I thoroughly enjoy using it." Dark commented, before his eyes shined, getting an idea. "Why don't I show you a live demonstration?"

"No!" Danny tried to move, but was still frozen in a time-lock. "Stop! Please! Leave my friends alone!"

When Dark made no indication of stopping, Danny forced himself to transform. He screamed in agony, but used that pain to amplify the power of his ghostly wail. The sheer power of the cry shorted out the Specter Deflector, while causing Dark, and the small cell containing Sam and Tucker, to fly through the new hole in Danny's bedroom wall, while also releasing the two teens and sending them tumbling onto the sidewalk with some more minor bruising.

When Danny finally stopped, he placed his hands on his knees to catch his breath, before he floated into the air. He hovered over the three, watching as Sam and Tucker got to their feet, while Dark lied on his back, looking up at the halfa with a smile on his face before he proceeded to float up. "Not bad, Daniel. You make your mentor proud… though allow me to show you how it's really done."

Dread set in as Danny realized what was about to happen. He flew as fast as he could, only to find himself slowed down to a snails pace, while the world continued to rush by around him. He wasn't going to be able to save them. He wasn't going to be able to make it. He'd lost his parents, and now he would lose his friends. It would be just like the other timeline…

A sudden beam of red struck Dark's staff, though he hardly seemed fazed, as he turned to see Vlad, landing before him with a cold look to his face, one Danny had never seen before. Dark merely smiled, as though he were looking at a dear old friend. "Vladimir, it's been so long. I almost forgot what you looked like, seeing as your ghost half eventually became, is, and will become a part of me. Hmm, I really should have called myself Paradox."

Vlad continued to say nothing to the ghost. "Daniel, get your friends out of here. I'll deal with this ghost."

Danny glanced between them before he nodded, and flew towards his friends. Dark merely chuckled at the attempt. "How adorable; you think you can run from me. Unfortunately for you, however,"

Dark held up his hands, a blue glow forming around them, as he pulled Danny back towards him, while keeping Sam and Tucker in place. Quickly pulling the young halfa into his chest, Dark wrapped his arm tightly around the boy's neck while lifting Sam and Tucker into the air, smiling at their attempt to struggle. ", you can't outrun time."

Dark threw the two teens into Vlad, the three of them slamming into a wall. He then tightened his hold around Danny's neck, looking down at his petrified face with a smirk. "Nor can you keep it from guiding your every action."

Turning intangible, Dark overshadowed Danny, but it wasn't a normal overshadowing. No, Danny was still well aware of what was going on. He could feel his feet moving forward, he could feel the power gathering in his palms, and he could see the fearful faces of his friends and Vlad.

But he couldn't control any of it.

"Everyone," Danny's voice spoke, sounding as cold as his very core. ", let's make this a moment Daniel will _never_ forget."


	7. Chapter 6

Danny was curled into a ball inside of the, mostly destroyed, city hall, unable to keep tears from dripping down his face. His parents were dead. His friends were dead. Vlad was dead. Jazz was going to be dead, or she might be already, who knew? And there was nothing Danny could do to save them, or bring them back. He'd not only broken his promise to them, but he'd let two entire worlds down.

And that had all happened in a day.

It was now two days later, and Danny was still hardly able to breath with the crushing weight of guilt and failure sitting on his chest. Even if it was out of his control, the halfa still felt he didn't fight hard enough. That he didn't fight long enough, or well enough. He hadn't been enough, and that was why his loved ones were dead. Dead at his hands.

The only upside to this mess, if you could call it an upside, was that Dark had been nowhere to be found after the act. He and his Observants were busy doing any number of horrible things, while giving Danny, in the dark time master's own words, "time to grieve," though that did little to calm the halfa down. If anything, it made him more apprehensive.

He had no idea when, or where, the ghost would show up, but he truly wanted it to be soon. With no one left to support him, Danny had nothing to live for, and that thought hurt. It hurt so much, it felt as though someone were stabbing him in the heart a million times, and yet no wound was strong enough to just end it. He just… wished it would all go away. Wished that it would end.

"Time out!" Danny jumped, looking down to see a scratched up time medallion around his neck. He then slowly turned his gaze upwards, and stared into the eyes of Dark.

"What do you want?" Danny asked, seeing no use is sounding brave or strong. He couldn't be that way without his loved ones, he just couldn't. "Why can't you just leave me alone, already?"

"Daniel, listen to me." Dark said, for the first time shifting into a different form than his adult one. It was childish, with little fangs, instead of buck teeth like Clockwork, and his eyes were a, shiny, ruby-red. His hair even burned less intensely, as though trying to appear less hostile, though the ectoplasm and blood stains negated any effects the smaller form would have had. "Though I may relish in watching everyone suffer, a large part of me still cares about you, and wishes to teach you. The only way to do that, however, is to break you down and rebuild you. Any other way would never work effectively. Come, Daniel, allow me to make the hurt go away, and make you better."

Danny glared at the floor, not wanting to meet the falsely innocent eyes. "No… I won't do it…"

Dark shook his head, shifting into his adult form so he could sit beside Danny. Placing an arm around the halfa, who flinched in response, the ghost continued to speak. "Please, this is for your own good. One way or another, you're going to become evil, it's how all immortal heroes end up. Remember the line… "You either die the hero," which you can't actually do, "or live long enough to see yourself become the villain." Wouldn't you rather have guidance? Someone to hold onto now that your obsession is shattered? Someone to be there, unlike all of your mortal friends, that will never die. Someone who knows you?"

"If you care so much, then why did you do it!?" Danny jumped up, eyes glowing bright green as tears welled up in his eyes. "If you care so damn much about me, why did you kill the only people who would be there for me, mortal or not! Why did you ruin my life!?"

Dark wasn't fazed by a single word. "I told you, I have to rebuild you. Besides, your morals were clouded by their judgment. You need to learn on your own."

Danny narrowed his eyes. "Even if I wanted to, why should I accept your help if I have to do it on my own?"

"Simple," Dark gave a wicked grin. "I'm a third you, a third your mentor, and a third your... "mentor," I'll say. Or, in laymen's terms, I know you far better than anyone else, seeing as I am partially you and those who know you. I'm giving you a chance for a better afterlife, Daniel. I suggest you take it. After all, time doesn't often give second chances."

Danny frowned, reaching into his pocket for the picture of his family and friends. He gazed at it for a long time, before he sighed. Closing his eyes, he allowed his tears to fall as he nodded. "I guess I don't have anything here anymore... I'll go with you. Just… Can I take some stuff with me?"

Dark scanned Danny's face, seeing the hollowness in his tear-filled eyes. Smiling at the progress, Dark nodded and allowed him to head to the, mostly intact, Fenton Works, where the halfa packed his clothes, a photo album, and some keepsakes. The one object that most amused Dark was the model rocket he remembered Danny making during his freshman year. He had been extremely protective of it when he had showed his friends, much like a ghost would act with their territory. He would have said something, but decided against it. They did have a schedule to keep after all.

"Come along, Daniel. And don't worry… you'll forget all about them and your pain soon." Dark said, opening a portal into his clock tower. Allowing Danny to go first, Dark cried "Time in!" before following the halfa to the ghost zone.

Once he'd entered the tower, and shut the portal, however, he saw the boy immediately walk into a guest room, and lock the door behind him. Shaking his head, Dark proceeded to flick through Danny's future inside his viewing room, smiling slightly at what he could become. It was worth it. He couldn't wait to see his young apprentice succeed.

"…One of you disposable masses of goo, come here!" Dark ordered, and an Observant immediately responded, kneeling at his feet.

"Yes, Master Dark? What do you need?" The Observant asked, not displaying a single sign of fear or unhappiness at answering his master's wishes.

"Pretend you're not broken for 5 minutes, and act as an Observant would. Speak with… _Danny,_ and tell him what is on this scroll. Understood, waste?" Dark rose an eyebrow, and the Observant bowed.

Pulling a scroll out of, seemingly, nowhere, he handed it to the Observant before he turned back to the time-stream. Ghosts swarmed Amity Park, the portal having been re-opened by the dark time master himself, and were reeking havoc on the civilians, though their reluctance to kill was… displeasing. And the ones that did kill with vigor were far too quick in their delivery. Still, they were killing, so he let it slide. After all, every life taken merely meant rebuilding Danny would be that much easier.

Chuckling to himself, Dark then proceeded to scroll through various timelines. "Now… let's see what else could help speed up this process."


	8. Chapter 7

Dark knew that Danny was awake when the halfa started screaming from a nightmare. It was the kind of scream that would petrify a normal man, but Dark merely saw it as progress. The boy needed comfort, and he'd seek it out from the nearest source eventually, no matter what. And even if his human half wouldn't admit it, his ghost form most certainly would. After all, a ghost can't survive without an obsession for very long, even if they are only half.

Danny crept out of his room a moment later, seemingly having been scared into ghost form. His green eyes were glancing around nervously, before they fell on Dark's figure. Swallowing the lump in his throat, the halfa shut his door behind him and walked up to the ghost, whose gaze never left the time stream.

The boy was clearly scared, but he hid it as best as he could. Standing up straight, the boy spoke up. "Hey, can I… go out?"

"Of course you can, Daniel." Danny frowned at the use of his name, being vaguely reminded of Vlad. "Am I allowed to know where you're going?"

Danny narrowed his eyes at the back of the man's head. "You know everything already, so you already know where I'm going."

The dark time master shrugged. "Humor me."

"I just want to go out into the Ghost Zone for a while, alright?" Danny explained, floating up to leave.

"Very well. Take a time medallion with you, and I'll see you when you get back." When Danny went to ask why, the ghost answered before he even had the chance to open his mouth. "It's so you won't be attacked by any ghosts who know better. Have fun, Daniel."

Danny stared at the ghost for a moment, unsure of if he could trust those words. For all he knew, the time medallion could be some sort of mind control device. Still, Danny really needed to let off some steam after what had happened yesterday, so he took the time medallion and flew out into the Ghost Zone.

Despite the lack of ghosts, the Zone hadn't changed much in two years. There were more islands, and more doors, but that was mostly it. And it caused a pang of sorrow to spread through the halfa. With so few changes, so many things reminded him of what once was. He remembered mapping out the Ghost Zone with Sam and Tucker, exploring it in his free-time, showing it to Jazz for the first time, and so much more… There were so many memories.

When Danny started to cry, he let off an ecto-blast and smashed a floating rock into pieces. It hurt so much, but he'd be damned if he let it get to him. His loved ones wouldn't want that.

Quickly gathering some rocks from some of the nearby islands, Danny proceeded to throw them, one by one, and blast them into smithereens. It was a great stress reliever, and helped get rid of some of his anger and sadness. Once he'd run out of rocks, however, he still had some fight left in him, so he decided to train.

Duplicating himself, 3 Danny's now circled each other, preparing to fight. One of the clones moved first, and the original Danny countered the blast with a shield. This went on for about an hour, before the halfa finally decided it was time to head back to the tower and lock himself in his room a bit more.

If he was remembering correctly, the scroll one of the Observants had read to him said food would be served at 9 o'clock, Amity Park time. That would be a while, but he didn't mind. Although, now that he thought about it, he was kind of hungry, seeing as he wasn't able to have dinner yesterday.

Trying to think of where he could get a good meal, seeing as his world was overrun by ghosts, and the Ghost Zone was practically deserted and hated him, the boy decided to stop by the Far Frozen. Frostbite probably had some kind of food, being a Yeti of some description, so it was worth a try.

On the way, however, Danny came across another ghost. "Skulker?"

The mechanical hunter stopped floating towards… wherever his destination was, and turned to face Danny. When his eyes fell on the time medallion around his neck, he visibly stiffened. "What is it, Ghost Child? I don't have much time for talk."

"Uh… Where are you going?" Danny asked, feeling oddly uncomfortable with not being attacked by the hunter. It just left a feeling of wrongness in the halfa's chest.

Skulker bit back any cruel remark, and responded while constantly glancing towards the time medallion. "To the clock tower. I assume you're also doing work for… Master Dark."

"No, I was just heading to the Far Frozen… What is he having you do?" Danny questioned, eyes full of concern. He didn't even bother wondering about the "Master Dark" thing.

Skulker glanced towards the direction of the clock tower, eyes wary, before he explained the situation. "The entirety of the Ghost Zone is being used to destroy the inhabitants of your world, including myself. Master Dark has also ordered us to bring to him any artifacts we may come across, or else. We cannot defy him either, for he is in possession of the Ring of Rage and the Crown of Fire. The entire Ghost Zone even witnessed him slay Pariah with our own eyes."

Danny's skin became pale, as his eyes widened. "But I didn't see him wearing either of them."

"We watched him place them inside of his chest. We don't know what he did, but his power increased greatly, and with his abilities, none of us planned to defy him. Now, I must go, Ghost Child. I hope we will be able to continue our chase in the future." With that, Skulker flew past Danny, leaving the boy to momentarily think about what had just been revealed to him.

Shaking his head to regain his focus, the boy flew into the Far Frozen and proceeded to look around. Spotting a cave, he flew towards it and peered inside. Frostbite was there with some of his friends, all of them discussing something. When Danny cleared his throat, they turned to face him. Frostbite then approached, eyes focused on the medallion around the Halfa's throat.

"Oh, Great One, I see you've started wearing the symbol of our oppressor." He said, making Danny glance down at the object.

"Not really out of want… Umm, I wanted to ask you guys some stuff, and maybe get something to eat?" Danny asked, deciding to remove his time medallion.

"We currently have no food to offer you, but we can provide you with information." He said, and Danny nodded, while shoving the fact that, if he wanted food, he'd have to go back to whatever was left of Amity Park out of his mind. "What would you like to know?"

"Well… Umm… It's about my obsession. See, yesterday, after-" Danny paused, cutting himself off. He'd rather not dwell on those events too much in the presence of others. "…Well, yesterday… "Dark" said that my obsession was shattered. So… What happens to a ghost without an obsession? Especially when I don't even know what my obsession was."

Frostbite looked at the halfa, pity now present in his eyes. "I'm deeply sorry, but if you have formed an obsession, and then lost it, then there will only be pain until you can find a new one."

Danny swallowed, nervous as to what that could entail. "What do you mean by pain?"

"Emptiness, to sorrow, to madness. Unless you can find another thing to hold onto, I fear you will only hurt. I'm sorry, Great One." Frostbite placed his icy hand over the halfa's shoulder, as the boy now realized what Dark's plan was.

"He's gonna choose my obsession for me…" Danny muttered, only to look up when he felt the yeti shake his head.

"A ghost's obsession cannot be chosen for them, no matter how powerful the force is that tries to do so. If you do find another, then it will be something that _you_ find comfort in." Frostbite explained, making Danny breathe a sigh of relief.

"Well that's good... Thanks, Frostbite. So, how will I know when I have a new obsession, anyway?" Danny questioned.

"It is a feeling. Something you simply know. I'm sure you'll find one soon." Frostbite said, and Danny nodded.

"Okay. Well, I'm going to go find something to eat… Later guys." With that, Danny flew off, leaving Frostbite and his kind to watch him go.

One of them then spoke up. "You should have told him that his obsession will most likely be the exact opposite of what it once was, to forget about the first."

"That wouldn't help him." Frostbite stated. "He'd just run towards that path faster… He must fight it and choose to stay where he is. And at a time like this, he doesn't need any more worry. There is already pain of loss and fear of the future in his eyes. He doesn't need the stress of knowing he might get a horrible obsession as well. After all, a savior doesn't want to think they could become a traitor. So long as he focuses on being the hero, he will be fine."


	9. Chapter 8

Danny was not fine.

He walked through Amity Park in his human form, ignoring the ghosts while the ghosts ignored him. He couldn't, however, ignore the copious amount of screams and blood surrounding him. More specifically, he couldn't ignore the lack of empathy in his head, and his startling lack of interest in saving them. It had him feeling incredibly worried.

In place of his hero complex was emptiness, and no matter how hard the halfa tried to fight it, he just couldn't find a means to save the people who needed him. He just kept walking, and only reacted when some of their blood crossed his path, leaving a nauseous and sad feeling to settle in the pit of his stomach.

Actually, now that Danny thought about it, this had been going on for awhile now, ever since his loved-ones were taken away from him. It was almost as if he cried out his protective nature alongside his worries, and the worst part was that he didn't have anyone else to turn to. The only person that was guaranteed to understand his problem was killed by the only ghost guaranteed to understand his problem.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Danny continued walking down the street, only to freeze in place. Before him was a building, completely destroyed, with the neon red sign lying in the parking lot. Packets of sauce were spilled on the pavement, and half-eaten, charred, burgers and fries were splattered everywhere, along with another red liquid that Danny chose to believe was ketchup.

The Nasty Burger.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, the halfa stepped inside of the building. He ran his hand along the remains of the tile walls, numbly searching for food that wasn't burned or on the ground, leaving few options. The voice of his nightmares then returned, seemingly speaking over his shoulder, as memories of a sight, just like this one, flashed in his mind. _"Strange how one massive fireball of highly combustible condiments can ruin your whole future."_

Danny frowned, finding himself replying back, sorrowfully. "Even weirder is that, in a timeline where none of that even happened, everyone still died… What did I do wrong? How do I fix this?"

A small voice in his head told him that he couldn't fix this. That even if he could, he _shouldn't_ fix this. It told him that this was meant to be, that the inevitable was inevitable for a reason. And that made Danny want to cry, because it made sense.

"Oh, somebody kill me." Danny groaned, collapsing to his knees to hold his head in his hands, tears slowly streaming down his face. How something could hurt so much, and feel so empty at the same time, he didn't know.

"You know, as much as I'd like to fulfill that request, Master Dark would be very unhappy if you died." Danny jumped, eyes wide as he looked around for the source of the voice.

Turning around slowly, Danny was taken aback by the appearance of the Observant behind him. His eye was red, and the collar around his neck, marked with a time medallion, was very ornate. He also sat in a floating chair, his spectral tail not moving at all, much like most of his body, as he seemed completely relaxed.

"Uh… Who are you?" Danny asked, before he blinked. "And why do _you_ want to kill me? I never did anything to you."

"I am the first Observant that Master Dark… altered for his benefits. Often times I'm called slightly-less-disposable-pile-of-goo, but you can call me Concave. Now, come along." The Observant, Concave, pulled a glove out from beneath his cloak that looked, creepily, like Wulf's hand. Danny didn't think about it too much as Concave donned the glove, and opened the portal. "Oh, and as for why I want to kill you; _you_ are part of _him,_ and I deserve something nice after this mess."

Danny gulped, before he followed the Observant through the portal, and into the tower. "So, uh, what does Dark need me for, anyway?"

"I wouldn't know; ask him yourself, ghost boy." With that, Concave turned Danny towards the Viewing room and floated away in his chair.

Shaking his nerves as best he could, the halfa turned into his ghost form as an extra precaution, though he was sure it wouldn't do much against a ghost who knew everything, and entered the room. Once inside, he was surprised to see the dark time master, lounging on a couch with his tail hanging off the side, and eating pizza, while one screen played an old Packers game, another played some natural disasters, and a third was showing a space documentary.

"Umm…" Danny asked, floating over to the comfortable ghost. "What are you doing?"

"Sating the lingering needs of my counterparts. Vladimir didn't see this Packers game, Dan just liked destruction, and, well, you know the space one; it's your favorite too. Though the Packers and NASA are a lot less prevalent in me since the two of you were fused together before becoming me, it's still there." Dark explained, eyes never leaving the screens. "Also, we all like pizza. Would you care for some?"

Danny was about to say no, but his empty stomach took control of his hand, and he quickly found himself reaching for a slice out of the box as he sat on the floor. Said box made Danny frown, as he and his friends would go there sometimes, but he quickly turned his focus to eating, hardly even realizing that he and the dark time master shared the same taste in toppings. Once he finished his slice, he looked up at Dark. "So… Why did you ask me to come back here again?"

"I wanted to bond with my apprentice. That, and you wouldn't have found any food at the nursery, so staying there was a waste of time, and you really don't want to waste it." Dark said, looking down at Danny now, eyes full of mischief.

The halfa was almost too afraid to ask. "Uh…, nursery?"

"You know, _the nursery_. Where your despair and suffering is taken care of and nurtured so that it can grow and spread through you until you explode. I would have had you come here earlier, had you not gone to the Nasty Burger, but I had to see your progress. I'd say we're almost ready to start fixing you. In fact, I think you've naturally started a little already, considering the way you look now." Dark's mischievous look was now one of, pure, malevolent glee, as he bared his sharp teeth with a smile.

Danny shivered, inching away slightly. "W-what do you mean by that?"

Gesturing to the polished floor, Dark continued to stare at the young halfa, clearly wanting to see the boy's reaction. His NASA, Packers, and misery were all but forgotten, in place of what would be the greatest moment of his afterlife.

The moment where red eyes replaced green, and a scream sounded through the tower.


	10. Chapter 9

Danny clenched his chest, unable to tear his vision away from the sight of his eyes. Blood red, just like his future self's. Looking up at Dark, the halfa begged for an answer, eyes unfittingly scared with their color. He didn't care that his mentor was an evil hodgepodge of ghosts at the moment, he just didn't want to become evil along with him.

"Relax, Daniel." Dark said, voice calm and level despite his amused face, kind of like Clockwork. "Your eyes are just red to fit your new obsession, growing within you. Your body often morphs to fit it; it's why malevolent ghosts tend to look more "scary" than benevolent ones."

"Malevolent? B-but I can't be- How is that- I'm not evil!" Danny floated away from the floor, and away from the gaze of his eyes. Away from darkness. "I promised I wouldn't become evil! I won't, I-"

"Daniel," Dark interrupted. ", though having you as my apprentice would be far nicer than killing you, and I'd love to teach you, I still want to kill you, so shut up and listen to me. You can try to be "good," but without a reason, you won't last very long. So, you can either fight a losing battle, and try to defeat me along with your true nature, or submit now and become my proper apprentice."

Danny fired a blast at the dark time master, flinching at the toothy grin he received. "I knew you'd pick the more entertaining option."

With that, Dark vanished from sight in a blue mist, leaving Danny to try and find him. He then gasped as a small, blue, ectoblast narrowly missed cutting his face off. Turning around quickly, the halfa held his hands out in front of him and fired, though he was only successful in breaking a, very expensive looking, piece of armor.

Taking a different approach, Danny separated himself into 3, all of whom flinched at the amused chuckle that sounded through the room, with no clear source. "Honestly, Daniel, you can't win, no matter what power you use."

Danny growled, all three of him blasting at whatever they could. "It's not about winning, it's about avenging my friends, family, and everyone else you've taken away from me! I'm not letting you hurt anyone else I care about!"

"Oh?" Dark suddenly appeared before the original Danny, quickly grabbing him by the arm. He then proceeded to drain his energy, chuckling at the agonizing scream the young halfa released. The white rings encircled his waist now, and his clones vanished from sight. He fought with gritted teeth to maintain his ghost form, but it seemed to only weaken him faster. "Daniel, let me _explain_ something to you."

Floating to the ground, Dark shook Danny until he reverted back to his human form. "Defeating me won't bring your friends back, it won't bring your family back, and it won't bring your town back, not that you should _want_ them back anyway. Your friends, for example. They never cared about you nearly as much as you seem to have fooled yourself into believing."

Dark grabbed Danny by his head and waved his staff, creating a scene around them. It showed Danny with his friends, and all of them were a bit younger than they were now, not that you could really tell with Danny. Jazz was there too, and they were all gathered around the Fenton Portal. The only real difference was that Danny's hair had a white streak running through it.

"What is this?" Danny asked, only to have Dark hush him.

 _"I don't have my powers anymore!" The alternate version of the halfa said, clearly happy about this development, though his friends didn't seem nearly as excited. If anything, they looked bored and a little agitated._

The original Danny glanced at Dark. "What is this?" He asked once more, face now stern.

Dark smirked. "A timeline that Clockwork almost let happen. The timeline where you, tired of how the town treats you, of how your parents hunt you, and how it put your friends in danger, got rid of your ghost half permanently. In doing so, your friends hated you, grew to despise you even."

Danny narrowed his eyes. He didn't see that in their faces at all. "My friends would never act that way. With or without my powers, they would never stop being my friends."

Dark waved his staff, just as some people Danny had never seen before were entering Fenton Works. The image it cut to made Danny's eyes widen at the sight, while his heart stopped in his chest briefly. "Then let's try your family."

 _"Mom… Dad… what are you doing?" Both the alternate-timeline Danny and the Danny in Dark's grasp asked._

 _The alternate Danny was sitting in his room, clearly sleep-deprived, as he was hunched over his homework. His parents were holding several ghost gadgets in their hands as they looked at their son. The alternate halfa looked nervous, as he slowly stood up._

 _The alternate Maddie spoke up first, smiling despite the worry and fear present in her eyes, along with curiosity and intrigue. "Well, sweetie, we thought all about what you said when you told us you were… half ghost. It took awhile to process, but now we know that you're just sick. Some ghost got into your body, and made you think it was your friend, so-"_

 _"We're gonna rip it out of you!" Jack interrupted, making both halfa's pale._

 _"No! I'm not sick, I'm serious! W-what are you-" The alternate Danny screamed, as the Specter Deflector was placed around his waist, and he was dragged down into the lab._

Danny's eyes were wide, and tears threatened to spill out of him. His parents would never do that, not in this timeline, or any timeline. These were just tricks, Danny knew it! So… why was he so scared if it couldn't happen to him?

Dark noticed that the boy had become frozen still, and added to the cold with his tone. "Don't you see, young Daniel? In this timeline, the town hated you, all of you. They pushed around your human half, and abused your ghost half. In three of many timelines like them, your friends stabbed you in the back or abandoned you, while your family cut you open and studied you like any other ghost. No one could love the ghost kid…"

Danny shook his head. The sorrow and fear weighed heavily on his shoulders now, but there was one more thing he needed to see. "…Show me the timeline where you weren't there. The timeline where everyone died, but not because of a ghost. Because I… I…"

A wry smile crossed Dark's face. "Outlived them?"

Danny nodded, numbly. He wanted, no _needed,_ to see if it really was inevitable. If, in the end, he really was destined to become evil, with or without his friends. And Dark showed him.

 _Danny Fenton sat on a rock, in the middle of a wasteland. His eyes were glowing a faint blue, and his hair flickered like a flame of darkness, though it left you knowing that it was cold. A frown was etched onto his 14 year old face, as his eyes scanned for anything to do. He seemed to show no emotion, save for boredom._

 _He then spoke, voice deep and tired. "Happy birthday, Danny. You've officially become the youngest looking 200 year old half-alive. Too bad you've got no one to celebrate it with… Why? Well you saved them all, killed them all, and every goddamn thing in between. Geez, only 200 and I'm already bored and talking to myself…"_

 _Shaking his head, the halfa stood up and looked down at the dusted fields below. No travelers in his territory yet… Shame, really. "Still… at least the people are safe in the afterlife."_

 _The halfa transformed, his black hair turning to white flames, as pure green eyes replaced his blue ones. His outfit was the same, save for the black cloak and goggles. His symbol was also missing, nothing more than a black space. A smile then settled on his face as a ghost, finally, entered what remained of Amity Park. "And the town will be safe once this ghost is nothing more than ectoplasmic goo on my boot."_

And Danny numbly stared as the ghost was wiped out, unable to believe what he'd just seen. Dark merely rubbed the boy's back, looking down at him with amusement. "See what happens when you become too obsessed with saving people, Daniel?"

"Shut up…" Danny said, glancing at Dark with an empty gaze. "I'm going to my room to think."

Dark let the boy go, a smirk on his face as he entered his room and shut the door behind him. The dark time master then turned to face the three scenes he'd shown the boy. "Oh Daniel, you've just sealed your own fate…"

Dark then proceeded to wave his staff, now showing the original timelines. The one where Danny saved the town from an asteroid thanks to his friends. The one where his parents only wanted to fix him, driven by fear to protect him. And, Dark's most favorite, the one where the boy locked himself into an eternal sleep to satisfy his obsession and keep himself from turning evil, while he dreamt of protection most cruel, and his town thanked him for everything he'd ever done for them.

Clearing the images from the room with a pleased grin, time turned it's back and waited for the desired outcome to truly begin to unfold. "It's only a matter of time, now…"


	11. Chapter 10

The tower was quiet. There was no ticking, no bell chimes, or even slight creaking. A week, Danny assumed anyway, had passed since the day the halfa had retreated to his room to think about his fate, and that week broke him. He'd concluded that, even if he managed to kill Dark, there would be no one to watch over the time stream, no matter how messed up said ghost actually made it. It didn't help that he had the Crown of Fire and Ring of Rage either.

Not only that, but it wouldn't accomplish anything. With or without Dark, Danny would become evil and break his promises. He had no say in the matter, he just would, and that terrified him. It wasn't like he could die before it happens either. He was immortal, he wouldn't ever die of old age, and he was far too afraid to kill himself. He had no choice… He submitted.

"Come on, Daniel," Dark said to the numb boy, who blankly stared up at him. "at least try to look happy for me."

Danny merely continued to stare at him. He'd also started speaking less over the past week, which Dark found mildly annoying, but could easily work around. After all, even when all is quiet, time moves forward, and everything else with it. Even stubborn, depressed, young halfas like Danny.

"Alright, fine. Be that way. But whether you're silent and frozen like a statue, or as loud and obnoxious as Clockwork when he laughs and shakes that damn thermo- Ahem... You will still do as I say." Danny couldn't help but chuckle a little, as Dark remembered his other half's time in the Fenton Thermos. "See, now was that so hard?"

Danny rolled his eyes, before he looked at the floor, the gaze of his blue orbs now sad once more. "I just… I still don't want to become evil, Dark. No matter how much anyone liked me, I made a promise."

"Daniel, you really have to stop painting your world with two colors. There are many shades of grey in between when it comes to morals. Besides, evil is good in the villain's eye, isn't it?" Dark offered his words to the boy, before he held up his staff. "Now, follow me; we have some training to do. That should help you clear your head."

Danny didn't like the look in Dark's eyes as he said those words. "T-training?"

* * *

"Gah!" Danny flew backwards, effectively landing on his butt. He groaned, before he realized part of his suit was on fire, and quickly patted it out, only to turn and glare as the dark time ghost chuckled.

"What's the matter, Daniel? You can't land a hit on an old man?" Dark asked, completely calm as he floated there in his elder form. You could faintly see his ribs through his black robes, and his hair and beard were much longer, while his flaming hair merely flickered instead of blazed. And yet, despite his appearance, he was thoroughly kicking Danny's ass. "I thought teenagers were good at killing time."

Danny narrowed his eyes as the dark time master floated above him, a smug smirk on said ghost's face. "It's not like I can fly at the "speed of time," you know!"

"Well," Dark started, returning to his adult form. "we can work on that another time. Until then, let's work on your stamina next, if you have any left of course... I want you to release a ghostly wail into this portal for... let's say 5 minutes."

"What!?" Danny exclaimed, as Dark snapped his fingers. Concave appeared with Wulf's hand on his like a glove, and opened a portal for his master. "I can barely hold it for 5 seconds, let alone 5 minutes!"

"And that's why I'm training you. Once you're done, we'll be going to Amity Park for a… let's say a day trip." Dark said. Danny tried to protest, but was cut off. "No argument, Daniel. Besides, screaming into a void is very therapeutic."

Danny just stared at the man, before he sighed and sucked in a breath, deciding it best not to argue. His eyes flashed their red color for a moment, as the halfa released his Ghostly Wail into the portal, while trying his best not to wonder where it led, or who could've been behind it. He held the attack for nearly a minute, before he abruptly stopped and fell forward, reverting back to his human half almost instantly.

"I hate you…" Danny managed to say, as Dark rolled him over with his staff, making him lie on his back. Blue eyes now leered upwards, and into solid red ones. "I hate you more than anyone else..."

"I'm glad you think me worthy of such attention, Daniel. Being of such importance in your life is very gratifying. Now, shall go?" Dark questioned, lifting the halfa by the back of his shirt.

The boy just groaned, too tired to say anything about what Dark said, or to do anything at all for that matter. Dark sighed, transferring some of his energy to the halfa as they stepped through another portal Concave had created. The ghost then dropped the boy onto the ground, making him narrow his eyes in response, before he sat up and looked around. He then frowned, seeing that Amity Park was little more than mostly destroyed buildings and fire at this point.

Slowly standing, the halfa turned to face Dark. "Why are we here?"

Dark smirked, before he looked into the sky. Danny followed his gaze, and was surprised to see Valerie, fighting off a small horde of ghosts. "I want you to kill her."

Danny froze. He stopped breathing. He stopped thinking. He stopped.

And then he started again, turning to face the dark time master with fear and worry, while said time master continued to look up, and into the sky. "I can't do that! I won't do that!"

"Either you get the chance to say goodbye and kill her, or I torture her and force you to watch. It won't be short either, so why not be the one to end her, and make it so she doesn't suffer? Isn't that the _right_ thing to do?" Dark looked down at Danny, a smirk on his face as the boy battled himself. He'd managed to appeal to both ends of the spectrum that was Fenton and Phantom with that one.

"I… I…" Danny glanced at the young woman, who had just finished defeating the group of ghosts. "… I'm sorry, Valerie."

Danny allowed the white rings to wash over him, frowning at the claws now accompanying his red eyes. He could feel his very core shifting, seeming to hum at the thought of fueling it's obsession. His ghost half had given up on protecting people, so maybe it was his turn to do the same. Whether it was his ghost half influencing him, Dark, or Danny just wanting the emptiness and pain to go away, it didn't matter. All that mattered was his obsession.

No longer would he protect. He would only endanger.

The faintest smile formed on Danny's face, as he floated up to the ghost huntress. She seemed to pick him up on a radar, and turned quickly, ready to shoot, but she never stood a chance.

The halfa dodged each blast, eyes focused and determined, as he was now a breath away from her face. He fully allowed himself to enjoy the moment. The temperature dropped several degrees, as Danny stood on the hover board, noting how the huntress's ghost equipment was quickly freezing over, along with the board beneath his feet. Holding out his hand, Danny let his ghostly instincts take the reigns. Many of the ghosts whom had been attacking stopped to watch the ghost boy, the _hero_ , as he stepped forward and caused the Valerie to inch closer to the edge of her hover board.

"Hello, Valerie." Energy ran down his arm, and into his palm, gathering into a small, powerful, green ectoblast. Red eyes met green, and it was suddenly clear that Danny's intentions were cruel and unwilling to change. Valerie then became one step away from falling to her death, just as Danny clenched his hand into a fist, the energy around it strong, while the young huntress's feet froze where they were, and the hafa did as Dark said he could.

"And goodbye."


	12. Epilogue

Dark watched the 24 year old halfa look over the cliff in his ghost form. The boy's white hair was seemingly being blown by a nonexistent wind, and his ruby red eyes were trained on the ground beneath them. He'd finally grown taller, 4 years ago, and no longer looked like a teenage boy, but a fully healthy 20-something. Now the boy would cease aging in appearance, not that the halfa really cared anymore.

"What are you thinking about, Daniel?" Dark asked, watching as the boy surveyed his old town. They hadn't been back for years, what with Dark training Danny and making himself stronger, and all.

The boy then smirked, arms folded as he watched the ghostly civilization that now inhabited Amity Park. Well, the one's who were good to and, or, obeyed the ghost boy anyhow. It was still his town after all. "Just thinking back to old times, Clocky."

The dark master of time frowned. "I thought I told you never to call me that, Daniel."

"And I told you to never call me Daniel, but we both see how well that's going." Danny responded, glancing at his mentor before turning back to the city. "Still… it's so hard to believe. 8 years ago, I would have killed to keep this from happening. And yet, here I am, watching it all play out like a comedy movie. It's funny how fast people can change with the right push."

"I suppose it is… So, how long will you be gone?" Dark questioned.

The boy shrugged. "You're the one with all the answers; I'm not sure. It may be a few weeks, maybe years. It's not like I'll be running low on time anytime soon. I just want to get out there, into the world, properly. With you, I've seen the past, present, and future of so many variants of the Ghost Zone. Here… well, I'd like to take in Earth slow. Plus, the ghosts have mostly stuck to Illinois and, you know…" Danny chuckled, earning a look from Dark.

Said look was very Vlad-like. "You know, I may not be fully Vlad, but I still don't like that you destroyed the mansion."

Danny just laughed, seeming eerily like his younger-self for a moment. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Fruitloop."

Dark shook his head, ruffling the boy's cold hair with a fond smile. "I'll be in my tower, Daniel. Have fun in your travels, and remember what I taught you."

"There is no good, nor evil, only obsession." Danny recited in as robotic a voice as he could muster. "Got it. Later "Master Dark," and tell Concave he can have my room while I'm gone. The guy deserves a break; maybe let him kill some people for me. He's got some serious anger he needs to release."

Dark chuckled. "Yes, Daniel."

With that, the man disappeared, teleporting to his home with a swish of his cloak, the only sign of him being there were the quickly disappearing sparks from the flaming clock he'd left with.

Casting one last glance at the ruined city, Danny couldn't help but let the memories rush through his head. Deciding to take one last fly over the city, the halfa followed his old patrol route, weaving through neighborhoods while waving at the ghostly inhabitants, though many remained cautious due to the ever-present instability in the boy's eyes. Finally, he landed at the Nasty Burger, where he used to stop to grab snacks in between patrols as a teen.

He smiled fondly, running a hand over the fallen neon sign. This place had seen so many sides of Danny, ones that exist, and ones that ceased, and yet more that now harbored different forms. He chuckled. "Well, it seems you didn't have to exist for me to turn into you, Dan. Though it's not quite what I expected, it turns out you really were inevitable, and I don't mind nearly as much as I thought I would… Actually, I don't mind at all."

Giving one last smile to the ruined establishment, Danny flew away, while Dark watched him do so from his tower. Amity Park was destroyed, Danny, the only ghost who could've stopped him, was by his side, he was all powerful, the Observants served him, and the rest of the world was about to face their hero turned rotten.

Leaning back against his couch, Dark took note of the countless other timelines, none of them quite like this one, and yet they blended beside it so seamlessly, as though it belonged there. Sighing in content, Dark cut off the screens, before floating onto the roof of his tower. The majority of the immediate area was in shambles, but beyond it the ghosts flourished, each of them taking part in the sadistic ventures Dark placed within them.

"All is forever as it's supposed to be."


End file.
